Last night I started and gave up on my gardening, My heart wasn’t really in it as I was shattered from going out to see The Dresden Dolls the night before in Birmingham AND working all day (and in fairness didn’t really start it till late), SO once I’d managed to hack away at a few blades of grass with a strimmer that was even less enthusiastic about doing the lawn than I was (I really should buy a new one!!) I gave up and had a bath…..an hour and 30 minutes later I woke up, sitting a bath of ice cold water shivering.

Not one of my smartest moves even I have to admit! I dragged myself out of the bathroom dripping and shaking into my bedroom where I proceeded to dry off and lie shivering wrapped in a king size duvet while wearing tracksuit bottoms (yes even in the midst if mini heat wave THATS how cold I was!) and a hoody (Thanks to James for the suggestion) worrying that I may well have just given myself at best flu and at worst pnuemonia untill I fell asleep!!

I awoke this morning feeling remarkably fine, and minus the tracksuit??? (god knows when I managed to undress myself??) To see the sun beaming through the cracks in the blinds, So I jumped out of bed (as sprightly as I ever am 7 o’clock in the morning) to open the windows and let the sun in….to be confronted by a police cordon line blocking of the street opposite my house and a forensics team in white jump suits scouring the road??

At this point I had no idea what was going on, so my first thought was to grab my camera to take pictures…unfortunatly they were just too far away to get a decent shot and my second was to get my son up for school, because the gossips on the playground were bound to know what was going on!

So after the general melee that is my house on school mornings I finally bundled himout of the front door and noticed that the cordon had moved further back but the police were still stopping anyone entering (or leaving, a bloody good excuse for being late to work) the street…Good for me as the parents that usually walk that way to school would now have to walk straight past my house, and luck was in, just as we crossed the road one of the parents came around the corner and as everyone knows mothers on the school run are a hive of local education. Low and behold the first words out of her mouth…”Have you heard? There’s been a stabbing!”.

“Oh Dear” Wasn’t my only thought but close enough, Then we proceeded to discuss this occurance (It had to be done) all the way to school with the merry band of people we aquired along the way. At the school it was a hot topic of conversation on the playground HOWEVER once inside the confines of the school playground the story matured and changed as these things often do into.,”It was a hit and run”, “There was a drugs raid”, “The Police have closed a brothel” and “There has been a murder” So with these ever so pleasent thoughts milling about my brain I left my son in the safety of the school and continued on my journey to work.

Still the gossips were working hard. On the bus I listened in on several conversations all which again had a different ending, “It was the kids rioting”, “They’ve found a bomb” and my personal favourite “Someone hung a dead chicken in the park!” (I kid you not! I really did hear some suggest this regardless of the fact it was the street that was closed not the park I’m just hoping the man who came up with that one was suffering from lack of sleep or something!) Once in town about 8 miles from the “crime scene” did the gossip abate and I managed to avoid all mention of it untill I returned home some 6 hours later.

The police have now reopened the road, but still in all the shops and people along the street its a good talking point and speculation is still rife as to what had happened, Which just goes to show the general intelligence of the people who live around my way, If they had have only tuned into the local radio station, bought the evening paper OR even checked the BBC website they would have seen (exactly as I have done) that a man in his thirties was attacked by 4 masked men beat around the head with a “blunt object” then shot in the stomache and the get away car was parked opposite MY HOUSE!!

Just to think all this occured less than 100 yards from my front door while I slept and tried to keep warm!!

I must point out however I do NOT live in the Bronx, Gun crime in my area is not a common occurance, ANY crime particully violent crime is not a common occurance wher I live, BUT it did add a hint of speculative excitement to the day (as well as my dozy mother dropping a house brick on her foot while gardening…breaking her toe and the shock of which bringing on an asthma attack!! Dozy bloody cow!!)